It’s almost as if the gods of competitive gaming knew we’d all be sitting around, so they made sure it was jam packed with tournaments to check out. DreamHack Winter 2016 kicked off in Sweden, with competitions for almost every game under the sun. There’s also a big Heroes of the Storm event going on in Europe as well. But I want to start this weekend by highlighting the action going on in the world of competitive Gears of War 4.
Gears of War 4
The Major League Gaming Columbus Open took place this weekend, meaning pro teams as well as those interested in testing their luck (and paying an entrance fee) will have a chance to test their mettle against one another.
The total prize pool is $US300,000 ($403,001) with $US120,000 ($161,201) of that going to the eventual winners — the biggest for a Gears of War 4 tournament to-date. You can find a full explanation of the rules and formats here and watch the matches in the stream below.
Heroes of the Storm
The first group stage for the Gold Club World Championship 2016 began this weekend. The event is one of the game’s biggest in Europe and a nice break from the HGC qualifiers.
A $US300,000 ($403,001) prize pool will be there to greet teams like North America’s Team Dignitas and China’s ZeroPanda. The results of the matches will carry over into next weekend’s Gold Club playoffs. You can watch those games here.
For those who would prefer to stay abreast of the HGC qualifiers, you can catch those games here.
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
DreamHack’s tournament has a $US100,000 ($134,334) prize pool for CS:GO, and currently Cloud9, OpTic Gaming, Team Ginitas, and FlipSid3 Tactics have already fallen. You can catch the grand finals here.
![The Weekend In Esports: Unleash The Gears Of War](https://www.kotaku.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/27/wtps6jbnuilsjrgn7eu2.png?quality=75?quality=75)
Hearthstone
DreamHack is also featuring the Hearthstone Grand Prix, a three day event. The tournament prize pool is just shy of $US30,000 ($40,300), but has attracted talent including Harald “Powder” Gimre, Jesper “Freakeh” Ericsson, and Martin “MartinCreek” Bäcklund. You can watch all of the matches right here.
Dota 2
It wouldn’t be the weekend without more Dota 2 to watch, and DreamHack has that covered as well with the ASUS ROG Dreamleague wrapping up. You can re-watch the stream from the beginning a href=”https://www.twitch.tv/dreamleague”>here.
Overwatch
Not enough esports? There’s also an Overwatch Championship going on at DreamHack. The event features a prize pool of $US50,000 ($67,167) and has come down to Ninjas in Pyjamas, Fnatic, Misfits, and CompLexity Gaming. You can find all of those games right here.
![The Weekend In Esports: Unleash The Gears Of War](https://www.kotaku.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/27/w2eecm9vn8pkojpwcwcd.png?quality=75?quality=75)
FIFA 17
The FIFA 17 Ultimate Team Qualifier is also going on, because the Europeans love their soccer football. The prize pool is a meager $US10,000 ($13,433), but the chance to see top tier FIFA play is worth it. You can follow the matches here.
Super Smash Bros.
And last but not least, there’s a big Smash Bros. Melee tournament at DreamHack which you can find here. The $US30,000 ($40,300) prize pool is the largest non-crowdfunded award in the game’s competitive history. The singles winners bracket has come down to Armada, Leffen, Hungrybox, and Mang0, as many expected.
But while that event was finishing up, the Smashdown World tournament continued in Paris. You can catch all of that action here.
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